Control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system

ABSTRACT

A sterilizing conveyer system having a sterilizing chamber. In this apparatus, a chute brings a magnetizable article to the sterilizing chamber. An overhead conveyer has a magnet located above the conveyer and the articles are lifted up against the conveyer and moved along by it. The magnetizable articles are sterilized by a sterilizing fluid which is jetted against their bottom side as they are conveyed through the chamber. The second chute is of a length to accommodate in storage all of the articles in the system in the event of breakdown. A control circuit with an up-down counter controls the feed of caps to the system by sensing and counting each cap entering the sterilizing chamber and later leaving the capper.

United States Patent 1191 Inventor: Joseph C. Pacillo, Park Ridge, 111.

Assignee: Continental Can Company, Inc.,

New York, N.Y.

Filed: Aug. 29, 1974 Appl. No.: 501,650

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 231,321, March 2, 1972, Pat. No. 3,833,339.

Pacilio 1451 Sept. 16, 1975 {54] CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR CONTROLLING 2,609,779 9/1952 Goldsworthy 113/114 R STE 2,811,126 10/1957 Ford 1l3/ll4R 2, 5 .25? OF A CAP RILIZER FEED 2,906,072 9/1959 Carlson 1 53/67 3,352,629 1 1/1967 lverson 21/80 Primary Examiner-Joseph Scovronek Assistant Examiner-Timothy W. Hagan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lockwood, Dewey, Zickert &. Alex ABSTRACT A sterilizing conveyer system having a sterilizing chamber. In this apparatus, a chute brings a magnetizable article to the sterilizing chamber. An overhead [52] [1.8. CI ..'..f...'.'.;.'.' 1l3'111'4it?21/56521/1631' dnveyl' has a magnet located above the 192/125 A; 221/150 A and the articles are lifted up against the conveyer and s 1 1111. C1. B65]! 57/06- GO'IC 9/00 abng by it The magnetizable articles are Sier- 5 Fig. Search 2 0 03. 53 7 ilized by a sterilizing fluid which is jetted against their 53/72 71 22H9 6 I4 bottom side as they are conveyed through the cham- 1983 5 5 13 her. The second chute is ofa length to accommodate DIG 5 1 [13/1 A I 114 in storage all of the articles in the system in the event 1 192/125 of breakdown. A control circuit with an up-down counter controls the feed of caps to the system by [56] References and sensing and counting each cap entering the sterilizing UNITED STATES PATENTS chamber and later leaving the capper.

2,501,291 3/1950 Rue 221/150 A x 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures F1 II 2 1 1, 1+

\ E41"- 1 J g A? mflfl PATENTEI] SEP I 61975 sum 3 [IF 4 CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR CONTROLLING THE FEED OF A CAP STERILIZER FEED SYSTEM This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 231,32l, filed Mar. 2, I972, now U.S.

Pat. No. 3,833,339 issued Sept. 3, 1974.

My invention relates to the treatment of articles, particularly to the treatment of articles with a sterilizing fluid such as steam.

Prior to this time, steam and other sterilizing fluids such as ethylene oxide have been used to render food containers and food container elements into an aseptic condition in preparation for sealing. The container or cap element is moved along with its open side up. Steam is played against the bottom of the container or element and sometimes jetted downwardly into the open portion. Usually, the containers are indexed into single file, spaced equally, and pass through an enclo sure having open ends. In some cases, the container slides along on top of a fluid permeable platform and steam is passed upward through the platform. Still others use a tower to lift up the container elements and then introduce a swirling sterilized fluid for cleansing purposes.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved sterilization of container or container elements.

It is another object of this invention to provide flexibility in the application of time and temperature applied to a container element in order to avoid damage to sealing compound, varnish, pigment and other materials which may be applied to the container or container element.

It is another object of this invention to sterilize an article with minimal mechanical damage to the article.

It is a final object of this invention to allow random placement of articles in single file against the bottom of a conveyor as the articles are conveyed through a sterilizer.

In brief, my invention is drawn to a sterilizing and capping system. This system provides for storing sterilizcd articles on a sterile chute if the capper has a stoppage. The sterilizer has a fluid permeable conveyer belt and above the belt is a magnet of sufficient strength to cause the top of each magnetizable article or container element to be pulled against the belt. The belt then moves the container element to be pulled against the belt. The belt then moves the container element along through a sterilizer enclosure. A pipe with upward vents is located under the belt and the steam or other sterilizing fluid is jetted against the bottom side of the article. Also, if required. a pipe or pipes may be located between the upper and lower run of the belt having vents for directing sterilizing fluid in a direction so that after being sprayed with this additional fluid, the article is completely sterilized. A hood is located about the piping and a conveying mechanism provides an enclosure so that the super-heated or saturated steam or other sterilizing medium is circulated completely about the article thus sterilizing each surface of the article. Upper piping having lateral vents may be located above the lower run of the conveyor belt. A sterilizing fluid such as steam may be jetted laterally from the upper pipe and keep the sterilizing fluid in turbulence, thus insuring that each part of the article is bathed in the sterilizing fluid. The sterilized article is conveyed down a sterile chute to a capper or some other operation.

This sterile chute may be used for storage of sterile articles under appropriate circumstances.

The invention will be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description which is to be read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a diagrammatic view of a sterilizing-capping system.

FIG. 2 is a detailed showing of an embodiment of my sterilizer.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the sterilizer conveyor belt.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a sterilizing and capping system for food products having a highly acid content.

The system shown in FIG. I may be used for a variety of purposes. While the sterilizer I is shown feeding a capper 2, it is to be understood that the next step after the sterilizer may be a filler, capper, spray applicator or other operation without altering the scope of my invention.

A hopper 3, shown at the upper left-hand corner, stores articles which are to be sterilized and passed on to the next operation. These articles may be stored in a hopper or in any one of a variety of ways which form no basic part of this invention. A feed slide 4 is shown adjacent the hopper and leads from it so that articles to be sterilized may be conveyed from the hopper toward the entrance 5 of the sterilizing enclosure 6. Near the bottom 7 of the feed slide 4 and adjacent to the sterilizer enclosure is an automatic cap stop mechanism 8 which provides a retractable locking element 9. The normally retracted locking element 9 may be automatically positioned to stop the flow of articles into the enclosure. A slide 4 or some other type of conveyor may be used as desired.

The article then enters the sterilizer 1. While in the sterilizer, the article is freed of undesirable bacteria. The article is conveyed along the length of the sterilizer to the next chute which is a sterile feed slide 10 or sterile conveyer. The sterile feed slide may be used for storage. A cover 11 is mounted over this slide to prevent contamination of the articles. An article slides down this chute I0 until it comes to the capper 2. Capper 2 has steam inside it at a desired temperature or has a sterile gas which keeps an item or an article in a sterile condition.

FIG. 1 further shows the electrical control system of my invention. On the slide 4 in front of the cap stop arrangement 8 is a first sensor 12. Sensor 12 may be photoelectric or of some other type sensor which operates at high temperature and which senses the passage of caps and emits a signal. The sensor I2 is electrically connected to an input pole l3 of an up-down counter I4. An output pole 15 of the up-down counter 14 is electrically connected to the cap stop mechanism 8. An output lead 16 is connected from the capper switch bow 17 to the capper motor 18. An output lead 19 is connected from an output terminal 20 of the up-down counter controller to an input terminal 21 of the capper switch box 17. Caps as they pass out of the capper 2 are sensed by a proximity probe 22 (second sensor) which is electrically connected to an input terminal 23 of the up-down counter control 14.

The up-down counter 14 is of the sort sold as a Counter Controller Model 6CE78 or Model CE78 by Hyde Park Electronics, Dayton. Ohio. The capper switch box 17 is a standard motor starter switch such as is sold by Square D Co. of Milwaukee, Wis., or Allen Bradeley Co. of Milwaukee. Wis.

The operation of this device is summarized as follows:

The counter 14 is set to the required number of caps desired in the reserve area 10. The reserve area is defined as the area between the input to the capper 2 and the discharge from the sterilizer. At this point, the counter 14 generates a signal which opens an automatic cap stop 9 and allows some of the caps above this cap to be conveyed or fed into the sterilizer l. A predetermined number of caps (cap reserve) as set as an upper limit on the up-down counter. When this number is tallied by the first sensor's signal 12 and is registered on the up-down counter. then the automatic cap stop 9 is actuated to prevent further passage of caps past the automatic cap stop. The capper 2 is now started. Each cap which passes through the caper 2 is placed on a jar or bottle and leaves the capper on the right-hand side as shown in FIG. 1. Each cap is identified and is counted by the signal from the second sensor 22. When each cap passes the second sensor. the up-down counter registers a low count. That is to say. the number recorded on the up-down counter is diminished by one. After some predetermined number of caps pass the second sensor 12, the cap stop mechanism opens to allow the proper number of caps to pass the automatic cap stop 9 and thus maintain the predetermined cap reserve in the cap reserve area 10.

Under some conditions. the capper may be running and the second sensor may not detect any further flow of caps for a predetermined period of time. When this happens, the capper is stopped. A time delay switch or similar device is in the circuit of the second sensor and its electrical connection to the capper switch box so that a cessation of flow of caps brings about a stopping of the capper motor after a predetermined period of time passes.

The up-down counter controller may also be set for a minimum cap level required for proper feeding of the capper. In this way, when the cap reserve decreases below this minimum level, the capper itself is turned off to avoid eventual uncapped jars.

The length of the sterile storage chute 10 is critical. A breakdown of the copper may cause the hopper feed gate 24 to close and the automatic cap stop to rise, thus preventing further caps from being fed into the sterilizer. The sterilizer operates continuously, and those caps which are in the sterilizer move through the steril izer and slide down the sterile feed slide. Thus, the length of the sterile feed slide 10 is such as to accommodate those caps or articles which are on the sterile feed slide at the time of the capper breakdown plus those articles which may be in the sterilizer during this time and which are moved through the sterilizer during the sterile feed slide. if the breakdown of the capper 2 lasts long enough. the contents of the sterilizer l and the sterile feed slide 10 are conveyed to the lower por tion of the sterile feed slide for storage. in this way, when the capper 2 becomes operative again, there is no crowding of the articles on the feed slide. the sterilizer or the sterile feed slide. This is because exactly the same number of caps (cap reserve) are present along the length of the system below the cap stop 9 as there were during the operative phase of the capper. When the capper 2 becomes operative, the automatic cap stop 9 is withdrawn to allow the caps to proceed into the sterilizer 1, the feed gate 24 opens, and the capper 2 starts using the caps accumulated on the sterile feed slide to. When the capper becomes operative and a predetermined number of capped j'ars passes the proximity probe. the counter withdraws the automatic cap stop and caps feed into the system. In this embodiment, the sterile storage feed slide 10 must be of such length as to accommodate the caps that may be in the sterilizer l and on the sterile feed slide 10 at the time of capper breakdown or other work stoppage.

A similar problem presents itself in the event of capper breakdown where there is no automatic cap stop and no electric feed gate for closing off the cap feed when there are uncapped containers discharging from the capper. In this embodiment. the sterile storage feed slide must be of such length as to accommodate the caps that may be in the sterilizer and on the sterile feed slide at the time of capper breakdown or other work stoppage.

A similar problem presents itself in the event of capper breakdown where there is no automatic cap stop and no electric feed gate for closing off the cap feed when there are uncapped containers discharging from the capper. in this embodiment. shown in FIG. 6, the length of the sterile storage chute is not of a length to accommodate all caps in the sterile slide.

According to the arrangements set forth above. when the capper starts to operate again. the caps which have accumulated on the sterile storage slide are used by the capper and a new supply of caps starts sliding down the sterile storage slide. Just as the last of the storage caps have been used by the capper, the fresh supply becomes available to the capper and it continues operation without pause.

Because of the nature of the sterilizer as shown in FIG. 1, each cap must be in the sterilizer and exposed to the sterilizing fluid for a time and temperature which may range as high as 600F. If it stays in the sterilizer for a longer time, the cap itself may deteriorate because the plastic inside the cap is rendered molten to where it drips from the cap and the sealing feature of the cap is destroyed and the sealing cap is useless. Also. varnish lithography and other coatings would be harmed. On the other hand, if each cap does not stay in the sterilizer for a predetermined time and temperature as required by the product being run, it is not sterilized because exposure to steam or superheated steam at a given temperature for at least a predetermined time is necessary to sterilize a cap. Curves have been developed showing the length of time and temperature necessary for complete bacterial destruction. These curves are known to be a combination of time and steam temperature. The patent to McConnell et al., US. Pat. No. 3,042,533, issued July 3, 1962, shows such curves for ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. For the reason that all articles, such as caps. must have a particular time-temperature combination, any caps that are upstream of the sterilizer or in the sterilizer must be passed through the sterilizer at the given time and temperature and then stored on the sterile storage slide.

The sterilizer continues to operate at a constant rate and maintains constant conditions.

The sterilizer itself appears externally as an elongated enclosure 6 having insulated sidewalls 25, top 26 and bottom 27 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). At each end of the enclosure is an opening 28 of suitable size to accommodate whatever articles are being passed through the sterilizer. In the sterilizer, the pressure is kept slightly above atmospheric at all times. The above atmospheric pressure is about equal to one half inch of water pressure which keeps possible airborn contaminants from entering the sterilizer. An endless chain or belt 30 of the type manufactured and sold by Cambridge Wire Cloth Co. of Cambridge, Md., under the trademark Sani-Grid" is mounted about sprocket wheels. This chain is a ladder-like conveyor belt.

The Sani-Grid chain 30 (FIG. 5) has elongated lateral segments 31 or rungs extending across the plane of the belt. Links 32, 33 form longitudinal connecting ele ments between the lateral elements. The links 32, 33 are fastened to the lateral segments 31 in such a manner that each lateral segment 31 is free to move about the adjacent lateral segment 31 and remains parallel to and at a constant distance from the adjacent lateral segment. This allows a continuing chain to be moved about the sprocket wheels 34, 35. Each lateral segment 31 is preferably a rod and the rods are spaced from each other by a distance several times the rod diameter so that the sterilizing fluid has free passage through the lateral segments to the article being sterilized. In practice. the inter-rod distance is at least three times the rod diameter. The Sani-Grid chain 30'used in my apparatus is made of a series of U-shaped members 31, 32, 33 with the base 31 of the U being several times the length of the upright elements 32, 33. The upright elements 32, 33 are turned inward and attached to the base 31 of another U-element to form an articulated chain or flat conveyor chain belt.

One sprocket wheel 34 assembly (FIG. 2) is located near to and above the entrance of the enclosure. The other sprocket wheel assembly 35 is located near to and above the exit 28 to the enclosure. A Sani-Grid belt 30 is an articulated ladder of the sort shown in FIG. 2. Since the rungs of the ladder fit into the teeth 36 of the rotatable sprocket wheels, the speed of operation of the conveyor belt 30 is easily controlled by the speed of rotation of the end sprocket wheels. Thus, duration of sterilizing exposure within the sterilizer is exactly controlled for each cap. Located just above the lower run 37 of the belt between the upper run 38 and lower run 37 is a long magnet 39. This magnet 39 extends from near one end of the run to near the other end of the run. The Sani-Grid conveyor can be made of a nonmagnetic material, such as brass, for example. The apparatus also works if the Sani-Grid conveyor is made of a magnetizable material.

Now the conveying system of the sterilizer 1, shown in FIGS. 1-6, operates in the following fashion. An article to be sterilized slides down the feed slide 7 and approaches the upstream end of the Sani-Grid belt. The article must be of a magnetizable material in order to pass through the sterilizer 1 since when it comes into the proximity of the conveyor belt, it is pulled upward against the belt by the magnet 39. The magnet 39 is of about the same strength from one end to the other and the article is held against the belt. Since each lateral segment 31 on the belt is round in contour, its contact with the top of the cap, for example, is a straight line. The cap is carried by the belt 30 toward the exit 28 from the enclosure 6 and it is there stripped off of the belt by a stripper element 40 and falls onto the conveyor chute 10. The magnets strength may be diminished at the exit end to allow the articles to disengage easily from the conveyor. Since the belt 30 moves the cap along without any sliding action between the belt and the cap, there is no damage to tin plate or coating on top ofthe cap. The belt 30 is several times the width of a cap in order to accommodate any size cap. The caps do not necessarily go through the sterilizer in single file even though there is only a single jet of steam coming upward. Guides 41, 42 (FIGS. 3 and 4) may be placed on each side of the center path of the belt in order to arrange the caps in a single file if such an option is desired. Indexing and spacing of the caps relative to each other is not necessary or helpful in this invention. The sole criterion of sterilization is temperaturetime spent within the sterilizer 1. Since each cap, no matter what its position on the belt, passes over the center line of the vents 43 in the sterilizer steam pipe 44, steam of identical temperature and for the same duration of time treats each cap processed through the sterilizer with the same amount of sterilizing media. The Sani-Grid chain 30 is used because l it is an open type chain; (2) it may be positively driven by sprocket drive; and (3) it has plenty of gap space between lateral elements of the chain or belt for steam or other sterilizing media to approach and contact the top of the cap or whatever article is being sterilized since the chain itself has only two or three hairline contacts with each cap and good circulation of steam or possible condensate. It is understood that any belt is acceptable so long as it has the characteristics of ready cleaning and sanitizing, line contact area, low opposition to passage of sterilizing fluid through it, adaptability for sprocket drive and passage of magnetic flux to a degree necessary for holding articles in tractive contact with the belt so that the article can be moved from one end of the sterilizing enclosure to the other.

Steam distributing pipe 44 is located under and spaced from the Sani-Grid belt. On the top surface of the pipe are a series of vents 43 arranged down the length of the pipe. The vents 43 are arranged so that the sterilizing media jetted from each vent overlaps the media jetted from adjacent vents. Each cap is continuously bathed with the sterilizing media. A sterilizing fluid, such as superheated steam, is jetted out of these pipes through the vents 43 and flows upwardly to impinge against the downwardly facing caps. Since the steam 45 is moving upwardly, its tendency is to stay up inside the cap. Thus, its contact inside the cap is of a more intimate and thorough nature than is the case where steam jets downwardly and tends to escape from an open container. In this fashion, each cap or other article which is conveyed by the grid is exposed to live steam from beginning to end. A key fact in this type of sterilizer is that whichever article is passed through the sterilizer should be oriented with its open side down and, of course, must be a metallic or at least a magnetizable article. It is held against the Sani-Grid conveyor 30 with sufficient force so that the tractive effect between the grid and the top surface of the cap is large enough to cause the cap to move with the Sani-Grid belt.

Upper sterilizing fluid piping 46. 47 may be mounted above the conveyor so the sterilizing fluid can be sprayed down onto the top and sides of the article. The upper sterilizing piping has vents 48 along its length directing sterilizing fluid toward the caps.

As pointed out in the paragraphs above, the endless belt 30 is wider than any cap size and for this reason may accommodate two or more caps. Two or more lines of caps positioned laterally to each other may be accommodated on the endless belt. This would require one lower pipe for each line of caps. Additional upper pipes may be added for reasons set forth in the above paragraph.

The adjustable guides 41, 42 may be positioned relative to each other so that only a single file of caps passes along the belt. In this way, a single file of caps may be positioned directly over the lower sterilizing fluid pipe. Of course, the guides may be spaced to accommodate any number of files or caps, inverted cans, or other articles on the endless conveyor belt.

The sterilizer l of FIG. 2 is not shown in level position. However, it is readily appreciated that it is within the scope of this invention for the sterilizer to be level or at an angle such as shown in FIG. 1. If the system is level, then the supply chute 4 and sterile feed slide may be a power conveyor to provide motive force.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is an adaptation of the embodiment of FIG. 1. This adaptation is designed for use in sterilizing articles at temperatures of about 2002SOF to destroy certain molds and yeasts. In this embodiment, a hopper motor 49 is shown attached to the dispensing hopper 3. A second motor 50 is shown attached to or adjacent to the sterilizer to drive the sterilizer conveyor belt. The drive is accomplished by chain or pulley drive 51 between the motor and the sprockets located at each end of the Sani-Grid belt or chain. A third motor 52 which drives the capper opera tion is shown. Sensor means 53, 54 are shown mounted adjacent the covered slide and at spaced intervals up the slide from the capper. A first sensor means 53 is located a short way up the slide from the capper machine. The second sensor 54 is located a further distance up the slide from the capper machine. These sensors are of the type which detect the passage of a metal object. Each of these sensors has a time delay mechanism either in the sensor or it may be incorporated in the control box so that a single cap sliding by the sensor will not actuate the control mechanism. However, a series of caps which back up from the capper past the first sensor then cause the first sensor to actuate the control mechanism. However, in order to cause hopper motor 49, sterilizer motor 50 and capper motor 52 to stop operation, both the first and second sensor means 53, 54 must have a back up line of caps adjacent to them. The back up line of caps actuates both sensors and the control circuit 55. This causes the hopper motor, sterilizer motor and the capper motor to stop.

After the malfunction has been located and the capper 2 is started again, the line of caps begins to feed into the capper. After both the sensors are uncovered or after the line of caps has receded down under both sensors, then the hopper motor 49 and the sterilizer motor 50 are automatically started and caps start passing out of the sterilizer l where they have been stored during the breakdown period. Because the temperature in the sterilizer is about 250F only, the caps in the sterilizer have not been damaged no matter for what duration of time they may stay in the sterilizer. Finally, the sterilizer and hopper motor 49, 50 speeds equal the speed of the capper and the machine is back in its normal running condition.

Among the advantages of this invention are the following: A varying load may be passed through the system. a more complete sterilization of the inside and outside of the article, fewer degree seconds are required because of temperature and time controllability and provision for anti-jamming features.

Further, time and temperature is controlled for sterilizing caps at temperatures under about 250F. However, a simplified system of control during a jammed condition can be used (see FIG. 6). This is because a lower temperature may be used for this type product. The lower temperature allows the total system to be shut down. Those caps remaining in the sterilizer for any period of time are not harmed.

The foregoing is a description of the illustrative embodiments of the invention, and it is applicant's intention in the appended claims to cover all forms which fall within the scope of the invention.

The application is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system comprising:

a first means for sensing the passage of a cap past a point in the cap feed system, an up-down counter having first and second input terminals and first and second output terminals.

electrically conductive means connecting the output of said first sensing means to said first input terminal, cap stop means for halting the passage of caps toward a sterilizer,

a second means for sensing the passage of caps from a processing machine,

electrically conductive means for connecting the output of said sensing means to the second input of said up-down counter,

a time delay switch having a control terminal, an

input terminal and an output terminal, electrically conductive means for connecting the control terminal of the time delay switch to the first output terminal of the up-down counter, electrically conductive means for connecting the output terminal of the time delay switch to the motor of the processing machine, and electrically conductive means for connecting the cap stop means to the second output terminal of the updown counter.

2. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said up-down counter comprises:

an up-down counter controller for generating a first signal to a first output terminal when the counter register indicates a predetermined upper number and generating a second signal to a second output terminal when the register indicates a predetermined lower number.

3. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said time delay switch comprises:

a starter switch having a control circuit and a switch circuit.

4. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said cap stop means comprises:

9 l a solenoid-plunger type stop means. electrically conductive means for connecting the out- A control circuit for controlling the feed Of 8 cap put of said gecond sensing means to the input te sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which min] of said time (may switch and said electrically conductive means for connecting the output of said second sensing means to a second input 5 electrically conductlve means for connecting the outsaid up dwn count" comprises: put terminal of and time delay swltch to the second a time delay switch having an input terminal and an input terminal of said P- P output terminal, nm t tm 

1. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system comprising: a first means for sensing the passage of a cap past a point in the cap feed system, an up-down counter having first and second input terminals and first and second output terminals. electrically conductive means connecting the output of said first sensing means to said first input terminal, cap stop means for halting the passage of caps toward a sterilizer, a second means for sensing the passage of caps from a processing machine, electrically conductive means for connecting the output of said sensing means to the second input of said up-down counter, a time delay switch having a control terminal, an input terminal and an output terminal, electrically conductive means for connecTing the control terminal of the time delay switch to the first output terminal of the up-down counter, electrically conductive means for connecting the output terminal of the time delay switch to the motor of the processing machine, and electrically conductive means for connecting the cap stop means to the second output terminal of the up-down counter.
 2. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said up-down counter comprises: an up-down counter controller for generating a first signal to a first output terminal when the counter register indicates a predetermined upper number and generating a second signal to a second output terminal when the register indicates a predetermined lower number.
 3. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said time delay switch comprises: a starter switch having a control circuit and a switch circuit.
 4. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said cap stop means comprises: a solenoid-plunger type stop means.
 5. A control circuit for controlling the feed of a cap sterilizer feed system as set forth in claim 1 in which said electrically conductive means for connecting the output of said second sensing means to a second input of said up-down counter comprises: a time delay switch having an input terminal and an output terminal, electrically conductive means for connecting the output of said second sensing means to the input terminal of said time delay switch, and electrically conductive means for connecting the output terminal of said time delay switch to the second input terminal of said up-down counter computer. 